Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $224.12 and last traded at $223.33, with a volume of 87171 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $221.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.33.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.71. The company has a market cap of $26.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80 and a beta of 1.05.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.01. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 42.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This is a boost from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 60.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.11, for a total value of $5,227,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 200,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,963,149.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.11, for a total value of $5,227,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 200,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,963,149.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Laura Matlin sold 673 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total transaction of $145,368.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,194,480. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,386 shares of company stock valued at $28,112,824. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,861,000 after buying an additional 2,765 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,951,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,870,556,000 after purchasing an additional 110,886 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $4,432,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $903,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $490,000. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Company Profile

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions.